Obit: John "Buster" Yellow Kidney, Franklin Parish, LA Submitted by Shirley Ashley ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** The Franklin Sun --- Winnsboro, Louisiana Volume 143--- No. 41 May 24, 2000-----Page 5A John "Buster" Yellow Kidney A traditional Blackfeet Nation burial service was conducted Saturday, May 20, 2000 for John"Buster" Yellow Kidney. Yellow Kidney was born April 21, 1931 on Two Medicine River and died at his home near Browning, Montana on May 15, 2000. Yellow Kidney was recognized as one of the spiritual leaders of the Blackfeet Nation, active in the honor, respect, return and preservation of his peoples ways, his homeland and traditional ceremonies. Adopted and raised by Old Man Yellow Kidney and Ensima Yellow Kidney on Two Medicine River, he traveled as a child with his adoptive father with the Ringling Brothers Circus where members of the Blackfeet and Sioux tribes performed. In 1954 he married Thelma Spotted Bear and they had six children. His wife died in August of 1986 . In 1988, he married Elizabeth Owen, a native of Wisner, and in recent years the couple spent the winters in Franklin Parish. During his career, Yellow Kidney worked building Hungry Horse Dam, fire fighting, railroad work, tribal irrigation and Browning Mercantile. He was a big game hunting guide, rancher, police officer and Chief of Police for the city of Browning and for the Blackfeet tribe and Blackfeet Community College board member. He initiated, developed and saw through to passing the Native American Graves Repatriation Act for the Blackfeet Nation and many other tribes across the United States and Canada. He worked to secure the Badger-Two Medicine sacred area from mining and oil exploration. Survivors include his wife, Elizabeth Agnes Owen Yellow Kidney; daughters, Cleora Agnes Wittl, Selma Ann Yellow Kidney, Helen Ann Horn; sons, Donald James Yellow Kidney, Merle Phillip Yellow Kidney, Nolan Jerone Yellow Kidney and Norman Guardipee; sister, Beverly Kittson; half-sisters, Doris Running Crane, Geraldine Gordon, Vivian Wells, Wilma Grace North Peigan; brothers, Teddy Williams and Al Potts; half-brothers, Virgil Wells and Dave Wells Jr.; 25 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Fannie Middle Calf and Dave Wells Sr.; his grandparents, Old Man Yellow Kidney and Ensima; his first wife, Thelma J. Spotted Bear Yellow Kidney; and their three children, Joseph, Marie, a baby boy; half-sisters, Doris Dragonfly; and his brother, Joseph Little Bull. The family suggests that any memorial contributions be sent to Nizi Puh Wah Schools, P.O. Box 800, Browning, Montana 59417